On the eve of Christmas last year, a rare green sea turtle named “Solstice” was rescued on a beach in Ireland, paralyzed due to the cold. This Friday (May 23), after being rescued six months ago, the turtle was released in the Canary Islands, Spain.
Pascual Calabuig, a veterinarian and biologist at the Gran Canaria Animal Protection Center, told Reuters that this young turtle typically swims in tropical or subtropical waters and may have been pushed ashore by a northward ocean current, eventually washing up on a beach in County Clare in southwest Ireland. At that time, it was on the brink of death.
“At that time, it suffered from pneumonia, meningitis, and was frozen stunned, so the situation was very bad. The turtle had bite marks from sharks or seals on its shell,” said Maria Foley, an animal caretaker at Dingle Ocean World in Ireland.
Like most reptiles, sea turtles cannot regulate their body temperature, so they become paralyzed when the surrounding water temperature is too low.
Foley flew with “Solstice” to Taliarte on Gran Canaria Island near the West African Atlantic, preparing to release it. (Click
here
to watch the video.)
For six months, this 0.3-meter-long, 3.1-kilogram turtle has been fed shrimp and squid and received antibiotic treatment. Now it has fully recovered.
“Solstice” is the second turtle brought by Foley’s team from Ireland to Taliarte. Recent studies suggest that the areas suitable for turtle survival have expanded, possibly due to rising sea temperatures. However, due to the long lifespan of turtles, their behavioral changes must be observed for an extended period.
Although green sea turtles are classified as an endangered species, they are quite common around the Canary Islands. Their name comes from the color of their fat, not their shell.
They can survive in the wild for 90 years, reach a length of 5 feet (about 1.5 meters), and weigh up to 415 pounds (about 190 kilograms).